3
The San Diego Monitor
SDMNEWS: Looks at the power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Africa
growth that could come from accelerating progress toward A Love / Hate Relationship gender equality. It builds on MGI’s global research on this topic
Africa’s Women Have POWER
Gender inequality in Africa remains high, and progress toward gender parity has stagnated. This is a large missed opportunity for African societies and for the continent’s growth prospects. Africa has so much promise. The continent is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies and offers an exciting frontier for businesses looking for growth and new markets. And yet, persistent gender inequality is limiting its potential. Pockets of good news do exist, but they tend to be success stories for women at the top of the pyramid, but not for millions of ordinary African women. Because of the failure to embrace gender diversity, millions of women and Africa’s overall social and economic progress will not reach their full potential. If Africa steps up its efforts now to close gender gaps, it can secure a substantial growth dividend in the process. Accelerating progress toward parity could boost African economies by the equivalent of 10 percent of their collective GDP by 2025, new research from the McKinsey Global Institute finds. This report explores the “power of parity” for Africa, looking at the potential boost to economic
since 2015 and further develops the thinking contained in McKinsey’s long-established research on women in leadership roles and, in particular, its report Women Matter Africa published in 2016. Although some African countries have made tremendous progress driving toward gender parity in some areas, gender inequality remains high across the continent. Women account for more than 50 percent of Africa’s combined population, but in 2018 generated only 33 percent of the continent’s collective GDP. This reinforces and fuels inequality and compromises Africa’s long-term economic health. Overall, progress toward gender equality has stalled over the past four years. At the current rate of progress, it would take Africa more than 140 years to reach gender parity. On MGI’s Gender Parity Score or GPS—a measure of progress toward equality— Africa scores 0.58 in 2019, indicating high gender inequality across the 15 GPS indicators of gender equality in work and society. The GPS weights each indicator equally and calculates an aggregate measure at the country level of how close women are to gender parity where a GPS of 1.00 indicates parity; a GPS of 0.95, as illustration, indicates that a country has 5 percent to go before attaining parity. Cont. on pg.8
What do they Want you to KNOW? What Everyone Needs to Know About 2020 Census Questions By law, the U.S. government is required to count the number of people living in the United States every 10 years. Getting an accurate count is important because census numbers impact daily life in the United States in many ways. For example, census data are often used to determine how much federal funding is allocated for important projects and services that benefit local communities. The census also plays a vital role in our nation’s system of government by determining how many representatives will be sent to Congress from each state. Because getting an accurate count is so important, the process is designed to be fast, easy, and safe. On average, it takes no more than 10 minutes to answer the questions on the census. How Are Census Data Collected? During the first census in 1790, census takers visited nearly every U.S. home to gather data. In 2020, households will have the option of responding online, by mail, or by phone. The Census Bureau expects many households to complete the questionnaire online, using instructions received in the mail. These instructions will also include information about how to respond by phone. Some households will receive a printed questionnaire which they can mail, postage-free, back to the
Be Counted! SDMNEWS’S Motivation Information
Census Bureau. A small percentage of households, primarily located in remote areas of the country, will be visited by a census taker who will help collect the necessary information to complete the form. Who Receives the Census Questionnaire and How Is It Filled Out? Most housing units in the United States that receive mail at their physical location will receive a letter by mail with instructions on how to complete the census questionnaire. Housing units include houses, apartments, cabins, mobile homes—pretty much any place where people live in the United States. In areas where the majority of housing units do not have mail delivered to their physical location, census workers will leave questionnaire packages at every identified housing unit. The census process also includes special provisions to count people who are homeless and those in other types of living quarters, such as college dorms, military barracks, ships, prisons, nursing homes, and homeless shelters. The person in the housing unit who fills out the census questionnaire or talks to the census taker is known as Person 1. Typically, Person 1 is the owner/co-owner or renter/corenter of the housing unit. READ MORE sdmonitornews.com
5
The San Diego Monitor
The African American Struggle through the U.S. Educational System
Before the end of the Civil War, the education of black slaves in the United States was a criminal endeavor. Although efforts were made in the newly formed free black communities to organize schools, few African Americans received any education at all before the Reconstruction Era when public schools were opened. Even then, establishments for black children were poorly financed and largely ignored. Emerging in the 1870s, Jim Crow laws ruled the educational system and schools became legally racially segregated. In 1890, the first “coloured” school building in Winter Park was opened to African American children, under the harsh conditions of the time. In 1896, the Supreme Court decision of Plessy vs. Ferguson established separate public schools for black and white students. The decision also deprived African American children of equivalent educational advantages. “Coloured” schools had to make do with scant financial support and negligible resources. A damaged photograph from 1890 documents the opening of the first school building for African Americans in the city of Winter Park, Florida. This schoolhouse appears consistent with the common characteristics of “coloured” schoolhouses emerging across the nation- few teachers, far too many students, and clearly under-financed. Two schoolteachers pose in the photograph alongside roughly 40
students – schoolchildren who mostly are in want of shoes. The schoolchildren in the photograph range from toddler-aged to early teens- a characteristic typical of the time, as generally one teacher supervised dozens of students in all subjects, and grades. The lack of proper and fair financing for black learning institutions affected the quality of the education provided. Teachers could not give pupils ample individual attention, and therefore students were made to work exponentially harder in order to succeed. However, as the 1890 photograph illustrates, attendance was high and both students and teachers alike were proud of their new privilege, however tainted it may have been. The struggle for fair and equal education for African Americans was long and hard, but much progress was made through the efforts of organizations such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) and individuals like Oliver Brown, who pushed for fairness in the education system. U.S. schools were legally desegregated in 1954 by the Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education, which overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson, and stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” READ MORE SDMONITORNEWS.COM
6
The San Diego Monitor
SDMNEWS Must Read 2020 CA Census Guide Table of Contents Section 1: General Information (PDF) •
Initiative and Referendum Qualification Requirements
•
Candidate Qualifications and Information
Section 2: Nomination Requirements (PDF) •
Presidential Candidates
•
United States Representative in Congress, and Member of the State Legislature Candidates
•
Nomination Documents – Nomination Papers and Declaration of Candidacy
•
Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee
•
Signatures In Lieu of Filing Fee and/or Nomination Papers
•
Ballot Designations
•
In General
•
Campaign Filings and Responsibilities
•
Candidate Intention Statement
•
Campaign Contribution Account
•
Exceptions
•
Additional Filing Information
Section 3: Candidate Filing Information (PDF) •
Required Filing Fees, Nomination Signatures
•
Write-In Candidates for the Office of President
•
Write-In Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices
In-Lieu
Signatures,
Section 4: Candidate Checklist (PDF) •
President of the United States
•
United States Representative in Congress
For download please go to www.sdmonitornews.com
and
8
For most indicators, low inequality is defined as being within 5 percent of parity, medium between 5 and 25 percent, high between 25 and 50 percent, and extremely high as greater than 50 percent from parity. Most indicators of gender inequality are measured as female-to-male ratios ranging from zero to 1. Data for 2015 are taken from end-2014 and data for 2019 are taken from end-2018. Africa’s GPS for 2019 is the same as four years previously. Across Africa, the only indicators on which there has been progress—in aggregate—are legal protection and political representation. All other indicators have stayed the same or even regressed in some countries.
The San Diego Monitor For most indicators, low inequality is defined as being within 5 percent of parity, medium between 5 and 25 percent, high between 25 and 50 percent, and extremely high as greater than 50 percent from parity. Most indicators of gender inequality are measured as female-to-male ratios ranging from zero to 1. Data for 2015 are taken from end-2014 and data for 2019 are taken from end-2018. Africa’s GPS for 2019 is the same as four years previously. Across Africa, the only indicators on which there has been progress—in aggregate—are legal protection and political representation. All other indicators have stayed the same or even regressed in some countries. The journey toward parity differs substantially among African countries. South Africa has the highest GPS at 0.76, indicating medium gender inequality. Mauritania, Mali, and Niger have the lowest scores at 0.46, 0.46, and 0.45, respectively (extremely high inequality). Although the overall picture is one of stagnation or even reversals in the journey toward parity, some countries have shown remarkable improvement on some indicators. For instance, Rwanda and South Africa have increased women’s representation in middle-management roles by 27 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
Black Kids Deserve Great Schools, Too Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media
Margaret Fortune and students who attend the Fortune School charter network in Sacramento and San Bernardino counties California. (Fortune School)
Last week, from February 5-7, the California branch of the National Action Network (NAN) met in Sacramento to hold its inaugural Western Regional Conference of chapters in California, Arizona, and Nevada. The Rev. Al Sharpton founded NAN in 1991. The organization observes the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., promoting a modern civil rights agenda that includes supporting any type of school that is successfully serving Black students. Among the events the conference featured were a student rally at the state Capitol to send lawmakers the message that “Black kids deserve great schools too;” ground breaking ceremonies for the newest Fortune School campus, Tecoy Porter College Prep, to be built on Dr. Porter’s Genesis Church property in Sacramento; the convening of leaders from California’s top majority Black schools and honoring them at the NAN Gala Banquet; and the “Bridging the African American Achievement Gap” panel discussion. Those events coincided with the release of a report titled “African American Leaders Hold the Roadmap to Black Student Achievement” authored by the Fortune School of Education and the National Action Network. African American students in California are the lowest performing subgroup on English language art and math standardized tests. The report proposes how to close their education achievement gap.
Identified in the report are schools with majority Black populations that are in the top half of academic performance in math and English language arts. Of the sixteen schools highlighted, fifteen of them were founded or are led by African Americans. Dr. Margaret Fortune, Secretary and Treasurer of the NAN Sacramento Chapter, deserves credit for taking the lead in producing the report and assembling the education leaders at the conference. In addition to her NAN duties, she is CEO and President of Fortune School of Education, Board Chair of the California Charter School Association, a Trustee of the California State University, and she has served as an education advisor to two California Governors. Four of her schools are on the list of top performers. While Dr. Fortune supports the efforts of Gov. Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond to close the African American achievement gap, she contends that they are not moving the needle on progress fast enough. The signal that she wants her former education policy colleagues to receive is that “We don’t need more policy, we need more successful schools” and they should turn their attention to consulting with the people like the education leaders in the report who are doing the work and adopt what they are doing to solve the problem. Next page
Her plea to the state is provide incentives to these educators to replicate what they are doing. Today there are sixteen schools on the list of top performers. If they all start another school, that’s 32 schools. As more successful schools come on line, the policy makers can then figure out how to bring those ideas to scale across the state. The educators that participated in the “Bridging The African American Achievement Gap" panel discussion were Dr. Margaret Fortune, President and CEO Fortune School, Sacramento; Ramona Wilder, CEO and Administrative Director, Wilder’s Preparatory Academy, Inglewood; Eugene Fisher, Board President, Watts Learning Center, Watts; Shawn Brumfield, Principal, Pasadena Rosebud Academy, Altadena; and Richard Da Sylveira, Principal, Cowan Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles. When asked what they thought Newsom and Thurmond could do to help their schools, the panel responded loud and clear that African-American students should be written into California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Because LCFF provides additional funds to low income students most policy makers feel AfricanAmerican students needs are being satisfied. But, the fact is not all blacks are “broke” and when it comes to their student experience the issues causing their achievement gap are more complicated than income. Race does matter in education. The panel agreed that the support offered to African-American students needs the same specificity provided in policy for English language learning students if it is going to have any impact toward closing the achievement gap.
Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber (D - San Diego) has twice proposed legislation, AB 2635 and AB 575, which would have directed LCFF funding to Black students that does not reference race, but recognizes them as the lowest performing subgroup that has not already drawn federal funding like special needs students. Both times, concerns about conflicts with Proposition 209, which prohibits state governmental institutions from considering race in public education, was used to stop the bills. The National Action Network conference has changed the paradigm for how California should approach closing the African American student achievement gap. There are majority Black schools in California that have already closed the gap, although the numbers are small. Wilder’s Preparatory Academy Charter Middle School in Inglewood has over 80 percent African-American students and over 99 percent students of color. Seventyfour percent of the students qualify for free and reduced price meals. Education researchers would probably predict students at Wilder’s Prep would not perform well on standardized tests. But, the taxpayer-funded public charter school is in the 96 percentile of California schools in English Language arts scoring 30 points above the state average and 14 points above the state average in Math. Meanwhile it’s an outrage that the majority of Black students find themselves in schools not making progress because of ineffective policies put out by the state.
11
The San Diego Monitor
It is Now Illegal to Call Children “At Risk” in California A decades-long effort to change how educators talk about students facing economic or social challenges has been backed by California lawmakers. A bill to remove references to “at-risk youth” and replace the term with “at-promise youth” in California’s Education Code and Penal Code was approved by California governor Gavin Newsom in mid-October. The California Education Code is a collection of laws primarily applying to public K-12 schools. The bill does not change the definition of "at risk," it merely replaces it with "at promise." “For far too long, the stigmatizing label of ‘at risk’ has been used to describe youth living in difficult situations,” said Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr., lead author of the bill, in an address to the California State Assembly earlier this year. “This is a perception issue,” said Jones-Sawyer. “By using this term, we are creating expectations of failure for our most vulnerable students.” Describing vulnerable young people as “at risk” has become ubiquitous in schools, colleges and universities in the U.S. over the past 30 years. There are numerous federal funding streams, conferences, training programs and ed-tech companies dedicated to identifying and supporting students deemed statistically most likely to struggle and, possibly, fail. Some educators argue that these efforts, though well intentioned and intended to help students, can have a negative impact because of their deficit-based approach. Elizabeth Swadener, a professor of justice studies at the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, was among one of the first academics to argue in the early 1990s that labeling children and young people as “at risk” was problematic. In the 1960s, children from low-income and minority ethnic families were widely thought to possess “cultural deficits” that prevented them from doing well academically. Swadener has long argued the “at-risk” label is just a newer version of the cultural deficit mind-set. The label is “implicitly, if not explicitly, racist, classist and problematic as children and their parents are very much aware that they are seen as at risk for failure,” she said.
WWW.SDMONITORNEWS.COM